Monday, July 27, 2009

Playground Equipment

Many of the saws we also handed down and used by my Dad for MANY years. Some are ebay finds (one all the way from Japan) and some are VERY recent arrivals.

Starting with the big saws these are both new production saws that just arrived in the last week. Both are 36” however you’ll notice that they have two different patterns. The first saw is a lace pattern and was designed specifically for green soft woods… Seems to make sense given the 4 cutting teeth to each raker.

Next up is a 36” tuttle pattern which is designed for hard and seasoned woods. This saw only has two cutters for each raker so it’s less aggressive than the first. Both saws have a helper handle on the end for well… A helper :) The handle is easy to remove and so far its far more comfortable to cut (one man) with the handle off, At some point, I’d like to replace both of these with wooden handles vs these plastic one. Plastic on a tool like this just does not belong.

Another noteworthy item was the edge, or lack of edge on the saws when they arrived. Here is a closeup of the lace and tuttle with the lace pattern being “as is” and the tuttle with a more complete edge that I put on by hand with a sharpening file (more on that during the sharpening post). There was an improvement in its performance with a better edge and took about 45 minutes to complete. Had I seen these saws in person first vs purchasing them on-line, I may have hesitated a bit based on the cost and the out of the box condition. I’m not totally disappointed it just means that some extra effort is going to be required on the edges as well as the rather blocky feel of the wood handles (and the previously mentioned plastic helper handles. All of which can be customized to my personal preference, just a little more customization that I’d like to see in a saw in this price range.

Various saws: Few of these are ebay finds but most were handed down. The only “metal” cutting saw in the bunch is this hack saw purchased on ebay for .99 cents. A new production tajima pull saw with multiple blades, coping saw (which BTW is probably the very first saw I EVER used, 33+ years ago)…This one really has special meaning. Next up is a 1940’s era Japanese pull saw that is marked with presumably the owners name. It was purchased/shipped from Japan via ebay for I believe $30.00ish…. Still a razor after 50 years. Two very fine tool saws and a tiny saw for very precise dovetail type work.

A collection of Hand saws which I am looking forward to bringing back to original condition.

Lastly the least expensive saw in the bunch that everyone who spends time in the woods should have. Inexpensive, functions well and you can purchase multiple spare blades at minimal cost.